Neighbours May 2009

A magazine by the Glasgow

University society STAR...

STudent
Action for
Refugees
FREE!
 Contents
Page One.
Letter from the Editors News Round Up
By Kate Hughes
Hi everyone and welcome to the summer edition
of neighbours. This issue is all about volunteering Page Three.
in Glasgow - many of Scotland’s refugee and asy- Volunteer Opportunities
lum charities are based here - the kind of stuff they By Emily Marsh
do and how to get involved in all their hard work.
Page Four.
We have in-depth articles on both the Red Cross Postive Action In Housing
and PAIH (Positive Action in Housing) as well as By Fraser Patterson
several other ideas for how to help out over the
summer and beyond. We also have the usual Page Six.
roundup of news and reviews of new films on Red Cross
refugees round the world. Following up from our By Olivia Booth
book review last time, we have an interview with
the writer Kate Clanchy and the president of Glas- Page Eight.
gow Uni’s Amnesty International explains the work Antigona: A Refugee’s Story
they have been doing in their campaign “No Re- By Kirsty Gifford
course, No Safety.”
Page Ten.
We’d like to thank all our writers for contributing, No Recourse, No Safety
the charities featured for all their insight and Kate By Rachel Laming
Clanchy for all the time she gave us. A special
thanks to our design editor and as usual to Oxfam Page Twelve.
for their continued support. Film Reviews
By Joe Carr Holland
See you again after the summer!
Kate and Fraser
 Page One

A News
Round
Up
By Kate Hughes

28th. George Orwell’s Animal Farm

March to be performed in the West Bank
The debut is to be staged at the Jenin camp.
18th. Nine face trespass This marks the beginning of a return to nor-
charges after demonstration at malcy for the camp which until recently was a
immigration removal centre stronghold for militant Palestinians. The play
The protestors on 17th at the Tinsley House in has been adapted to the current situation with
Gatwick Airport, West Sussex was demonstrat- a strong Palestinian twist, although this has
ing against the deportation of Kurdish Iraqi caused controversy with violent attacks against
refugees and were charged with aggravated tres- the director and attempts to burn the theatre
pass. down.

26th. 750 people killed this month

so far in Sudan over cattle rustlers
The UN states the fighting is due to livestock
raids between the Murle and Nuer ethnic
groups of the South Sudanese state Jonglei. Se-
curity in the region has also deteriorated due to
violent protests by rebels over the non-payment
of benefits in recent months.
30th. Failed asylum seekers
cannot receive free treatment
on the NHS, three judges have
ruled at the Court of Appeal
The Lord Justice Ward has stated at the Court
of Appeal that patients must have resided law-
fully in the UK for a year or more to receive
free health treatment although individual hos-
pitals can decide whether to treat patients with
no money.

A UNHCR convoy carrying Sudanese refugees

stops for a break on the way to South Sudan.
© UNHCR/E.Denholm
Page Two

20th. 140 migrants stranded in the

Mediterranean have been brought
to shore by Italian authorities after
April a four day stand off with Malta
The boat was one of many which carry mi-
grants from Africa to Italy, but which are often
3rd. South Africa has granted Zim-
capsized or stranded. The Italian government
babweans permits to stay legally for
rescued the migrants for ‘humanitarian reasons’
6 months within the country
though they maintain the ship was in an area
Permits allow the migrants access to healthcare
which fell within Malta’s restriction.
and education and the right to work within the
country. The permits will allow the 3,000,000
Zimbabweans who have crossed the border to
21st. The Sri Lankan government
stay as migrants without applying for political
has been accused of killing 1,000
asylum which would prevent them from even-
civilians by the Tamil Tigers
The Tigers have claimed the latest military of-
tually returning to their own country.
fence by the government has killed a thousand
and injured many more. However the govern-
16th. Three killed and many injured
ment in turn has accused the rebel attacks of
after an explosion on a ship carrying
targeting civilians. Over 60,000 Tamil civilians
asylum seekers was intercepted
have fled the region held by the rebels in the
by the Australian Navy
north of the island within the last two days.
The boat was the most recent of six that have
arrived in Australian waters this year and was
carrying 49 Afghanistan refugees. It was being
towed towards the Christmas Island detention
centre when the explosion occurred. Reports
suggest that the refugees spread petrol on the
deck, which then ignited.

Displaced Sri Lankan civilians at a special

site near the town of Vavuniya at the weekend.
© UNHCR/Z.Sinclair

Volunteer By Emily Marsh
Opportunities
A five page guide to volunteering opportunities
with organisations that help refugees and asy-
lum seekers around Glasgow. All the infor-
mation and contacts you need to get involved!
The next pages give a deeper insight into two
of these organisations, the Red Cross and
PAIH, but first below find a few more ideas
for places to help out.
The UNITY Centre is a small yet welcom-
ing office in Govan offering friendship and
advice to asylum seekers and
refugees, and regularly checks up on the asy-
lum seekers who have registered there to make
sure they haven’t been detained for deportation,
as often happens without prior warning.
When this occurs UNITY plays a vital
role in co-ordinating the asylum seeker’s appeal
to the Home Office, and making arrangements
for their family if necessary. The Centre is the
first organization to do so on a comprehensive,
open door basis, despite being run solely by
volunteers and on donations.
The UNITY Centre is a friendly and in-
dustrious place to volunteer, providing the
Page Three
opportunity to meet and work with people
from all over the world. The Centre is open
10-6 Monday-Friday, but there are other proj-
ects running outside these times, so any free
time you have will be greatly appreciated. To
volunteer or to share fundraising ideas please
call 0141 427 7992 during office hours
or drop in past the centre which is only a
minute walk from Cessnock tube station, you
can find a map on the website:
www.unitycentreglasgow.org
And STAR is also looking for volun-
teers! Come September the STAR teaching
project will be starting up again. Our weekly
lunchtime club run for students at a secondary
school for which English is not their first lan-
guage helps many children, including those
who arrived in Glasgow as asylum seekers, with
homework, word games and group activities.
Anyone enthusiastic about teaching with or
without experience contact us at:
starglasgow@gmail.com
Page Four
Positive
Action In By Fraser Patterson
Housing
Positive Action In Housing is the Scot-
tish ethnic minorities housing agency based in
Glasgow. The charity was set up in 1995 to con-
tinue and expand on the work of previous or-
ganisations in tackling the pressing housing
needs of Scotland’s ethnic minority communi-
ties. These included problems of substandard
housing, severe overcrowding and racial harass-
ment. The charity aims to allow everyone the
same opportunity to live in a good
quality, safe and affordable home
environment free from the fear of racial ha-
rassment or violence. Asylum seekers are par-
ticularly vulnerable to poverty and destitution.
PAIH provides a variety of services to help im-
prove their situation, this can include provid-
ing a hardship
fund for asylum seekers with no access to pub-
lic funds, support anti-racist campaigns, offer
training and guidance to tennents, housing
providers and refugee agencies, a casework
service for those facing housing problems, or-
ganise donations for vulnerable individuals and
families as well as having a diverse volunteering
program that can help in a many different ways.
Positive Action In Housing has experi-
enced many successes in its campaigns over re-
cent years and continues to provide services to
asylum seekers in Glasgow and Scotland that
would not exist without PAIH’s continued ef-
forts. Next month is Refugee Week
2009 which takes place been the 15 and 21st
of June.
 Page Five

Positive Action In Housing are working with

Glasgow University’s Amnesty International
student group to organise a sleep out in George
Square to raise awareness of asylum seekers
who are forced into destitution and receive no
help from the government whose
The work of PAIH is continued through the ef-
policies have put them there.
forts of a dedicated team of volunteers and
they are always looking for more enthusiastic
The provisional date has been set for Thursday
people to get involved with what they do. Vol-
the 18th and there will be speakers and enter-
unteers can help in a variety of ways from
tainers throughout the night and money will be
securing sponsorship and fundrais-
raised for PAIH who continue to help destitute
ing, helping with casework and in-
asylum seekers. Look out for more information
terviews, translating and interpreting
soon from GU Amnesty and PAIH.
and general office and database
work. The opening hours of the West George
Street office (just off Buchanan street) are
Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm so if you are
available between these times and are interested
in getting involved, or would like
more information, then get in con-
tact with Jamie O’Neill on
0141 353 2220 or email:
home@paih.org

If you want more info on what

Positive Action In Housing are up
to check out their website at:
www.paih.org
Page Six
British
R e d
By Olivia Booth
Cross
Hidden away behind an unassuming door on
Sauchiehall Street is the British Red Cross
Refugee Unit; a small, relaxed office with
only five permanent and two part-time staff. Its
small size, though, is deceptive; it offers many
invaluable services to refugees and asylum seek-
ers in Glasgow. Over half of the fifty volun-
teers are from asylum seeking backgrounds and
the centre is kept busy with a steady flow of
people, many of whom arrive in Glasgow from
London. People hear about their services
mostly through referrals from the Scottish
Refugee Council and Health and Social Serv-
ices, but also through word of mouth, says
Frank Higgins, the Tracing and Message Service
Manager who works at the Refugee Unit.
The Refugee Unit offers a range of serv-
ices for refugees and asylum seekers. Arriving
in a large foreign city can be difficult, as can get-
ting to grips with linguistic and cultural
barriers. Dealing with benefits agen-
cies and making appointments with
doctors and lawyers are skills that many
refugees, particularly women from repressive
regimes, have little experience or confidence in.
Pairing the potentially vulnerable
new arrivals with volunteers (on a gender, lan-
guage or cultural basis) over an eight week pe-
riod allows people to learn to find their own
way around Glasgow. On Mondays the
Refugee Unit also runs an informal drop-in
centre from 1-4 pm at the Quaker Meeting
House, 38 Elmbank Crescent, for food, play,
socialising, and learning.
As asylum seekers are not allowed to
work, volunteering with the Refugee Unit also
provides refugees and asylum seekers an oppor-
tunity to do something until they can resume
paid work. For some, like the refugee journal-
ists who contribute to their newspaper, New
Voices, it’s an opportunity to use their
skills, reflect and discuss issues
which affect them, and spread valu-
able information. Volunteering also pro-
vides access to a wide range of Red Cross
courses and training, helping people in their fu-
ture careers.
Other services include support with
gathering evidence for asylum claims, including
access to an International Red Cross record of
prisoners, vital proof of persecution for some.
This service is not just limited to asylum seek-
ers; the records date back to the 1940s, and can
be used by pensioners to prove they were pris-
oners of war.
The centre also helps bring
families back together. The tracing serv-
ice finds missing relatives and allows messages
to be delivered by hand to family members who
had to stay behind in areas where telecommu-
nications are impossible. Once an asylum seeker
has been awarded refugee status, the Refugee
Unit helps with the complex legal process to
allow partners and children who unable to es-
cape to join them in safety.
 Page Seven
28 year-old Miana, originally from Somalia, now lives
in Scotstoun. She has been in Glasgow for two years, and enjoys
living here, saying that she likes Scotland for its people. “They
are kind, helpful. Good people”. When she tells us her
favourite singer is Celine Dion, Frank, who works at the
Refugee Unit, challenges her to sing at the next staff meeting,
and teases her about her age: “She told me she was much
younger!” he claims. Underneath the jokes, a warm friendship
is clear. Frank helped Miana trace her son after
thirteen years apart. “I thank him every day” she tells us.
After a difficult past, Miana is now studying at college, and al-
though she doesn’t know exactly what she’s going to do in the
future, she tells us she has hope. Not content with just studying however, Miana is also
a devoted volunteer with the Red Cross, and also works with a local film company,
Diversity Films. “I can’t do everything”, she says, “but I try. I love the Red Cross.”

The Red Cross also has connections with many of the other bodies helping refugees in Glasgow.
Through partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council and the Refugee Survival Trust, the Red Cross
can provide food vouchers and hygiene kits, while through referral to associations like Positive Action
Housing temporary accommodation can be organised.

Volunteering Opportunities
There are a number of areas where volunteers would be welcome, and getting involved gives you ac-
cess to all of the Red Cross courses, as well as a great reference!
:::Orientation pairs a volunteer with a refugee or asylum seeker for up to eight weeks. If you know
Glasgow and want to meet new people and help them get to grips with the system then this could be
for you.
:::The Monday drop in centre is also in need of people with good organisational skills to arrange
food and coordinate activities.
:::Language skills, French in particular, are useful in some situations, however, many refugees prefer
to speak in English as language skills are vital to becoming part of their new community.
:::With so many volunteers, the Unit could do with someone who could commit to two or three
times a week as volunteer coordinator and make sure everyone is up to date with the latest information.
:::For those of you with less time, New Voice is also looking for contributors.
To find out more, or to request an application pack, contact the British Red Cross Refugee Unit, at
402 Sauchiehall St, call 0141 331 4170, or email ritsgla@redcross.org.uk
Page Eight

Antigona:
A Refugee’s
The result is Antigona’s story told how
Clanchy experienced it, as a curious, middle
class professional, and also as a friend.

Story By Kirsty Gifford “My partial life of Antigona is told with

me in the story because it is about both of us,
it is about one culture as seen by someone of
What Is She Doing Here? tells the story another culture”. Clanchy attempts to morally
of an Albanian woman, known as Antigona, living navigate her way around this problem, by not
as a refugee in London. The book was written by only refusing to exploit Antigona and helping
Kate Clanchy, who is best known for her poetry. her with the legal side of an asylum claim, but
She met Antigona in 1999 and offered her a job by researching such issues heavily.
cleaning but grew to know Antigona much more
closely as a result.
Though she focuses on Antigona, Clanchy
points out that “there are many thousands of
refugees in Britain who have far more sensational
stories of escape, torture and war,” but chose
Antigona because she is “a proper heroine, she is
exceptionally attractive, intelligent,
brave, and charismatic…The purpose
I had in mind was to place Antigona in
literature because I think she belongs
there, and to explore issues in contemporary
feminism. And to answer the question in the title.” I asked how common Clanchy thought
Clanchy and Antigona are not unlike each it is for women to take on unofficial domestic
other - both women have a strong sense of self work when not granted the right to do so legally
and seem evenly matched in speaking up for and whether or not is was safe to do so in the
themselves. As a result, Clanchy is straightforward UK. Clanchy says “it’s incredibly common.
in text’s viewpoint and What Is She Doing Here? is Even the Home Office was cleaned
told with Clanchy’s voice narrating and asking the with illegal labour for a while!…. But it’s
questions. a very shady, undocumented, difficult area.

If you look for example on computer listings
such as Gumtree in London you will see many
advertisements for domestic help at well below
the minimum wage.
Antigona is not the name of the woman
Clanchy is writing about but is an alias. “Antig-
ona currently lives an illegal life out-
side the protection of the law, and her
family still lives in Albania. Her identity is pro-
tected so that she will not be deported from the
country where she now lives.” For Antigona,
there are also other concerns, alongside depor-
tation, for example fear of offending her own
culture. “The Albanian diaspora is huge and uses
the internet widely. One early reaction to the
book on an Albanian website was ‘eugh she had
a nigger baby,’ and that was enough to make me
glad that I had refused all requests for photo-
graphs.”
Clanchy confirms that “the disguise is
quite complete and I’m happy to say it has
worked very well so far.” She chose the name
Antigona because “it is a real Albanian name,
though more common in Antigona’s mother’s
generation than her own. I liked it because of
the Antigone connection – but Antigona
Page Nine
herself also likes it. She associates it with history
and powerful women.”
The personal situation of Antigona is
deeply complex and yet is easy to generalise about
other refugees through her experience. Clanchy
however says “I understand the impulse to find
out more about Antigona – but there are
many refugees in this country who
could do with being listened to.” So
what should our response be to the book and
how can we deal with the refugees living in the
UK? In the book, Clanchy writes “the most dif-
ficult and powerful thing the general public can
do is actually talk to refugees and get to know
them as individuals, even if this is hard and raises
conflict. As a society, we tend to dump refugees
in poor areas and then condemn the poor white
people among whom they have landed for not ac-
cepting them enthusiastically enough. Anti-
racism is an article of faith among the middle
classes, but they don’t necessarily put
the time into volunteering at their local asy-
lum centre.” What is She Doing Here? doesn’t pro-
vide the reader with didactic opinions on the
subject of refugees but is an insight into an area
of our society many of us have very little real ex-
perience of.
Page Ten
NO RE-
COURSE, By Rachel Laming
NO SAFETY
We’d like to think that if a woman - any woman
- is repeatedly abused, beaten, humili-
ated and raped, the law will ensure she can
get protection and justice.
But it’s not like that.
Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against
Women campaign is turning its attention to is-
sues of refugee and asylum, with their initiative
to lobby the government to protect women
who have entered the UK from violent circum-
stances. As the law currently stands many
women who have entered Britain legally
through work permits, student visas and
spousal visas are not entitled to public funds
when they need them. The ‘no recourse’ to
public funds rule states that women, even if
married to a British citizen, are not entitled to
certain state benefits including housing benefit
and income support. This is because these
women are considered to have ‘insecure immi-
gration status,’ and are therefore not eligible for
public funds.
Consequently if a woman with an insecure im-
migration status is subjected to violence, there
is no help available to her. These women
cannot access any form of emergency accom-
modation including refuges because they are
not able to claim housing benefit or income
support. UK refuges require their residents to
cover their living and accommodation costs –
either through private income or through hous-
ing benefit and income support.
These organisations are being put in an
unacceptable position where they cannot take
in women they know to be in danger. Women’s
refuges are underfunded and cannot provide
the necessary financial assistance required to
help these women out of their desperate situa-
tion. Between April 2006 and March 2007,
BAWSO in Wales (Black Association Of
Women Step Out) supported 77 women with
These women will either stay in a vio-
lent situation or open themselves up to
exploitation elsewhere. Yet we can’t
provide a safe place for them. This
gets you down day by day. We are
supposed to help women to get out
of violence but we are told not to help
these particular women.”
-Outreach Worker, October 2007
no recourse to public funds. Of the 77 referred,
BAWSO could only accommodate 12 women
in their refuges. These women are able to apply
for indefinite leave to remain (stay in Britain for
an indefinite period of time), however during
 Page Eleven

UDHR Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights

and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, na-
tional or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Amnesty International is urging our government

the application process, which can take up to two
years, they are unable to gain access to any public
funds. This means they have no accommodation
and no money with which to survive.
There are many initiatives in Britain to
help women suffering from domestic violence;
however this ‘no recourse’ rule fundamentally ig-
nores the plight of women with an insecure im-
migration status. They are basically made to go
back to their violent situation as there is no help
available for them. As a result, many newly-mar-
ried women in the UK are trapped in violent
marriages and even if they do gain the
courage to seek help from the authorities, they
are simply turned away. The ‘no recourse’ rule
clearly undermines the Universal Dec-
laration of Human Rights which states
that the Government must provide safety from
violent circumstances for all people, no matter
their colour, creed, race or religion.
to put a stop to this by:
:::Allowing all women including refugees the
funds they need to protection from violence and
abuse.
:::Furthermore, providing for an exemption to
the ‘no recourse’ rule to ensure that women are
not forced to remain with a violent partner.
:::And lastly, developing an integrated strategy
regarding violence against women in order to
minimise the chance of policy contradictions
which undermine women’s rights.
These women have made the first step to new
lives free from violence, abuse and harassment.
We must help these women to live their lives
free from injustice. Do not let these women re-
turn to abuse, torture and oppression. We can
make a difference; you can make a difference -
visit www.amnesty.org.uk/svaw
Page Twelve

Film Reviews By Joe Carr Holland

Prince of Broadway (Sean Baker)

Young Ghanaian illegal immigrant Lucky is living free
and happy in New York. He works a small corner of
Broadway hustling designer merchandise to unsuspecting
tourists, has a little apartment, some money to go to col-
lege and in his spare time smokes weed with his work
mates and sees his girlfriend. He is the best hustler on
Broadway, and with his charm and panache anything
seems possible. That is until his ex dumps a baby in his
arms and vanishes.
Lucky’s world begins to crumble; he can't go to the
police because he has no citizenship and although his boss and fellow hus-
tlers try to help, Lucky finds it near impossible to do his job with a little
baby in tow. His little apartment becomes a play pen and his inability to
care for a baby is constantly evident, in one scene he leaves it in the bath
and orders it to stay put
as he answers the door. As the
story begins to unfold director
Sean Baker carefully blends hu-
mour with a poignant emo-
tional tale. When Lucky begins
to realise that this baby is not
going away he is forced to
make some difficult choices, to
abscond all responsibility or to
take on the child as part of
 Page Thirteen

his life and care for it properly. With

some excellent performances, including
Prince Adu as Lucky and Karren Karag- Boths films were shown as part of
ulian as his boss, ‘Prince of Broadway’ the annual Glasgow Film Festival.
offers an uplifting utopian view of
Lucky's life in New York City. Although
it possibly could have done more to ex-
plore the complex nature of the life of The Infinite Border
an illegal immigrant, its hard to resist or (Juan Manual Sepulveda)
criticise the infectious feel-good vibe this
film gives off throughout. As part of the Viva Mexico showcase the
Glasgow film festival offered the third fea-
Visit: ture from Mexican director Juan Manual
www.princeofbroadway.com Sepulveda, humanist documentary 'The
for information of screening and the Infinite Border'. Sepulveda explores the
DVD release. mass immigration from Mexico into the
United States and through first account
interviews highlights the determined and
unshakable nature of people searching for more fulfilling life and ultimately the American
dream. As more and more people attempt to cross the border by any means possible the
US attempts to shut them out with a 30-
foot-high, 700-mile-long fence. The film is
comprised of slow deliberating long shots
which feel as if they will never end, tragic
and optimistic personal stories and, at
points, the tangible feeling you are waiting
with the travellers to arrive somewhere that
is utterly imperceptible. Carefully con-
structed, the ‘The Infinite Border’ offers an
intimate portrait of the Mexican people to
whom the American dream is the only choice left.

View the trailer on youtube and keep a look out for the UK release.
 MADE WITH SUPPORT FROM

Would you like to get involved in STAR

or Neighbours?
Contact us at:
starglasgow@gmail.com

Or come along to our weekly meetings on

Mondays at 6pm in the QMU